Newbie starting again with a Rio 180

[Henry Howes]

Thought I'd start a journal more for my own benefit than anything else! I started keeping fish about 9 months a go with this tank, moved house 4 months a go and have had nothing but problems with algae since then. I think mostly due to my poor nutrient schedule, large increase in light and poor CO2 feeding.

I bought the tank with a single T8 bulb and standard internal filter, since then I have now fitted -
2X39W T5's with reflectors
Aquamantra EX300 external filter
2kg FE Co2 system with UP Diffuser
19W UV filter
Hydor 300 inline heater

So it started something like this:

Bought some decorations for the tank and it ended up looking like this:

Then with the new bulbs fitted and the external filter:

And then like this

This was the point I moved house and had lots of algae problems since. So now I have taken all the plants out, cleaned the filter out, scrubbed the decor and have started a 4 days black out to try and halt a bad outbreak of cyanobacteria. I felt like I was fighting a losing battle before hand and I wasn't happy with the layout as it was neither here now there.

I have got some fish in there -

5 Neon tetra (I did have more, but my angel fish got a bit hungry whilst I was away on holiday)
5 Emperor terta
2 Bolivian rams
1 German blue ram
1 lilac ram
2 Dwarf Gouramis
2 Angel fish
L183 pleco
L104 pleco

Will probably end up swapping this around somewhat! So my plan for now is to maybe put some decent Substrate under the gravel, start using the EI system of feeding nutrients and the fitting of another similar power filter. And then order a load of plants and try and decide on a layout!

Thanks for reading

 

[LondonDragon]

Nice start what is the heater doing there at the back of the tank of you have an inline one?
Going to be hard now to place anything under the gravel with that many fish in the tank, it will be very messy, with CO2 and EI you will be able to grow most plants anyway.

 

[Ady34]

Nice start what is the heater doing there at the back of the tank of you have an inline one?
Going to be hard now to place anything under the gravel with that many fish in the tank, it will be very messy, with CO2 and EI you will be able to grow most plants anyway.

Yeah, if you don't fancy stripping down, and want some root nutrition to help with the new plants your planning, you could add some substrate fertiliser tablets which are available from one of our sponsors, The Nutrient Company.
Seems you've already recognised where the problems started, so concentrate on co2 and distribution and there should be an improvement An additional filter will always be of benefit in helping address any distribution issues, especially if configured to mirror your existing spraybar, one for each half of the aquarium.
Cheerio,
Ady.

 

[Henry Howes]

Nice start what is the heater doing there at the back of the tank of you have an inline one?
Going to be hard now to place anything under the gravel with that many fish in the tank, it will be very messy, with CO2 and EI you will be able to grow most plants anyway.

I Haven't fitted the inline heater yet as I think with the inline UV filter and CO2 diffuser the flow will already be heavily reduced. I will fit it once the second filter turns up. I do have a 60 litre tank I could start running to keep the fish in whilst I change the substrate, how much do I stand to gain by using a more comprehensive substrate?

Thanks

Yeah, if you don't fancy stripping down, and want some root nutrition to help with the new plants your planning, you could add some substrate fertiliser tablets which are available from one of our sponsors, The Nutrient Company.
Seems you've already recognised where the problems started, so concentrate on co2 and distribution and there should be an improvement An additional filter will always be of benefit in helping address any distribution issues, especially if configured to mirror your existing spraybar, one for each half of the aquarium.
Cheerio,
Ady.

Thanks Ady, I was thinking that would be the best setup with the second filter in terms of pipe layout. I guess at the moment I'm prepared to swap the substrate, so it's the same question as above, are the root tabs a good substitute for good substrate?

Thanks

 

[discusdan]

looking like a great set up, cant wait for more updates.

 

[LondonDragon]

how much do I stand to gain by using a more comprehensive substrate?

It all depends what type of plants you want to keep, the more demanding carpeting plants benefit from it and also gives you a little room for error with the dosing for the first few months.